10/08/18: TBS drew a big crowd for its coverage of the Yankees/Red Sox in the ALDS

Good morning. It’s Monday October 8, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The Yankees/Red Sox continued their history as a viewership heavyweight, as TBS’ ALDS Game 2 on Saturday night averaged 5.1 million viewers to rank as the top program in primetime television. That number ranks as the most watched LDS on Saturday night since 2008, and peaked with 5.8 million viewers from 10-10:15p. Average viewership was up 82% over comparable 2017 LDS game numbers. Overall, TBS now claims an average of 4.3 million viewers through five game telecasts, up 39% over the last time the channel carried the ALDS in 2016 and up 26% over last year.

ON THE AIR

A Texas win in the Red River Showdown propelled FOX Sports to the top spot as the highest-rated sporting event on TV, according to the company’s Nielsen numbers. The 48-45 win over Oklahoma drew a 4.3 metered market rating, to rank as the network’s highest-rated college football game so far this season.

Around the dial, the SEC on CBS also scored upticks, rising 19% for its coverage of LSU/Florida. Saturday’s matchup averaged a 3.1/7 in metered market numbers.

With the MLB season in the books, ESPN reports that game viewership of the league on ESPN was up over 2017 numbers, according to Nielsen. ESPN wrapped up the season with an average of 1,074,000 viewers across its 94-game telecasts, (including the full regular season slate and the National League Wild Card Game presented by Hankook Tire), marking a 2% rise over 1,048,000 viewers in 2017, according to Nielsen.

NBC is reportedly finalizing a deal to bring Main Events fights back to the network, according to ESPN. The report states that if the deal is finalized, it would mean at least a two-year deal for roughly seven shows per year with rights fees in the low six-figures per card, according to the sources. The kickoff show is being contemplated for Dec. 29 on NBC in Atlantic City, with subsequent shows ticketed for NBC Sports Net.

2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and Portland Thorns defender Meghan Klingenberg is now part of FOX Sports where she began serving as a studio analyst for the 2018 Concacaf Championship. She joins host Rob Stone and lead studio analyst Alexi Lalas in Los Angeles for pre- and postgame coverage as the U.S., Panama, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago continue their World Cup™ qualifying campaigns.

On the local front, FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southeast report their highest year-over-year household ratings growth of any MLB team for their coverage of the Braves. The networks’ 3.20 average household rating in the Atlanta DMA mark a 76% uptick over the 2017 season and is the highest average household rating since 2013.

Meanwhile, the YES Network drew its best Yankees ratings in six seasons in 2018, with the network’s Yankees games ranking tops in the New York market this season in primetime. Yankees games on YES averaged a 3.60 TV Household rating this past season, its best Yankees ratings since 2012 and achieved six-year highs in key demos such as Males 25-54, Persons 25-54 and Females 25-54.

The National Hockey League announced that the league and its international broadcast partners will deliver games live in primetime on weekends throughout the 2018-19 season to fans in 24 countries and territories across Europe with the NHL European Game of the Week. “For the first time ever, the NHL European Game of the Week creates a destination viewing experience for loyal NHL fans across Europe,” said NHL Executive Vice President of Media & International Strategy David Proper. “With the cooperation of our Member Clubs, we were able to increase the number of games played in European primetime, providing a great opportunity for our international broadcast partners to broadcast nearly 50 Saturday and Sunday matchups this season.”

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

[NEW AWARDS OPPORTUNITY FOR 2018-2019]

TOP WOMEN IN SPORTS

Cynopsis is launching a new awards program celebrating female trailblazers in the sports industry. These are the women pushing the industry forward, from roles in all levels of production, technology, marketing and more. Top Women in Sports honorees are change agents who empower and inspire with their drive for innovation and inclusion.

The National Football League and the American Cancer Society are teaming up to support the fight against cancer for the tenth straight year via Crucial Catch: Intercept Cancer. The initiative addresses early detection and risk reduction efforts for multiple cancers. Funds donated through Crucial Catch this season will be directed toward support of three screenable cancers: breast, colorectal and cervical. Funding will continue to support the American Cancer Society Community Health Advocates implementing Nationwide Grants for Empowerment and Equity (CHANGE) Program. In addition, the NFL will work with ACS and CHANGE grant recipients to host education sessions and/or screenings in their communities, and many NFL teams will participate in these educational activities. As part of the campaign, the NFL and ACS created The Defender, a digital tool, which provides consumers with personalized tips to reduce their cancer risk. This year’s campaign also includes new digital features where NFL players talk about cancer’s impact on their lives. Players including Vikings quarterback Kirk cousins, Lions linebacker Eli Harold and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.

Qatar Airways is partnering with the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center in a multi-year deal that marks the brand’s first NBA sponsorship. The deal will see the Barclays Center’s Courtside Club become known as the Qatar Airways Club while, the airline will also receive branding on all courtside seats.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

DraftKings opened the doors to the 2019 Sports Betting National Championship, which will see contenders test their knowledge for a piece of $2.5 million in prizes, with the champion walking away with $1 million. The event will run from Jan. 11-13 out of Jersey City, with qualifiers open in the DraftKings lobby. The top five places are all guaranteed a six-figure payday, and there will be prizes all the way down to 25th.

The Players’ Tribune and The CW are joining forces for an original video starring current Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones. The video, Against All Odds, spotlights Jones as he opens up about his childhood and his drive to chase his dreams of playing in the NFL. Mirroring themes of The CW’s new show All-American, which debuts on Oct. 10, the video will live on TPT social channels and represents the first-ever collaboration between TPT and The CW.

UFC partnered with VFT Solutions, a leader in the content consumption and protection field, to monitor piracy across live streaming social media sites to prevent illegal streaming for UFC 229 last Saturday. VFT’s platform identifies and records the participants on both ends of the piracy.

Facebook picked up rights for the 2019-2022 Copa Libertadores. Under the deal, 46 matches a year — 27 of them exclusively — will be broadcast online in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

ESPORTS

Las Vegas will play host to the League of Legends All-Star 2018 this year, locking in on Esports Arena Las Vegas from Dec. 6-8 this year. This year’s event will draw from a pool of around 64 All-Stars including: a pair of pros from each competitive region, as voted by fans; two or three League Partners (streamers, prominent LoL community members, etc.) from each region, selected from the League Partner Program; and four pro player “All-Star Invitees”, chosen by Riot after the conclusion of the fan vote.

Riot reportedly locked in another team for the company’s upcoming franchised European League of Legends Championship Series. According to ESPN, the company has accepted Astralis as a franchise partner, where they will pay just over $12 million for the slot and join other reported organizations that include G2 Esports, Fnatic, Misfits, Schalke 04 Esports and Team Vitality in the league. On Friday, according to the report, Riot notified Splyce and H2K Gaming that their applications for franchise slots had been declined.

THE MAIN EVENT

Red Sox/Yankees on TBS at 7:30p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

The Latest Strategies for Maximizing & Monetizing Mobile Engagement

Tuesday, October 20th | 1:30-3:00PM ET

It’s crucial to keep pace in a whiplash-inducing landscape in which fast load speed and easy interface are just the beginning. On October 30th, our speakers from Oath, Group Nine Media and Vox Media will explore the solutions now available to content creators, buyers, and sellers to make the most of mobile.

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